Let
me tell you about a mystery that happened
not long ago. The marsh has many mysteries
and this one has a beauty that I will
remember for a long time. I took my
canoe out on a bright afternoon in flood
conditions from the ice house landing.
While paddling through the silky black
roiling waters..

I
spied what was like a beacon shining
from the depths. Pure white but
tinted to gold from the tannins
of the marsh water.

Usually
Water lilies bloom on the surface of
the marsh in early summer.

Like this
one. But there was a mystery afoot.
Why were some of the water lilies blooming
a foot under the surface of the marsh
water? The answer could be found earlier
in the spring.

Early this
spring was relatively dry and the water
lilies developed buds at lower water
levels. Then down came the rain. And
while water lilies have a little room
to play with when it comes to water
levels they did not prepare for the
amount of rain that was left over after
the marsh got tired of imitating a giant
sponge. The water levels rose so quickly
and to such depths that the buds were
not able to reach the surface before
blooming.

But never
fear. There were plenty of blooms observed
on the surface of the marsh and water
lilies are very capable of adapting
to changing environmental conditions.
So there will be plenty of water lilies
on the marsh for years to come.